Interwoven Lies
by SufferingSamurai2012
Summary: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple"   Lies fill the Firenation. Secret societies want Zuko dead. Nobles want Ozai on the throne. Spys and traitors are within the palace. Now, with an assassin captured, maybe Zuko will get the answers


This idea came to me a few weeks ago and has been messin with my mind for forever so I thought I outta get it on paper/screen. There will probably be a lot of OOC-ness but just roll with it; I think the storyline will be pretty good either way.

* * *

><p>A rustle of cloth awoke his senses. Immediately aware of his surroundings, the man tensed as he realized a stranger was in his room, the sound coming from the right of his massive bed.<p>

Opening his terribly scarred eye enough to where he could get a vague picture of the room, the Fire Lord noticed the large, open door that led to his balcony, revealing the trespassers entry point. The wind blew through his quarters, gently billowing the blood-red curtains and nearly masking the sound of the intruder as he tread across the plush rugs. From the footsteps, the Fire Lord gathered that, whoever the assassin was, he had a fairly small stature and was extremely light. Straining his ears, he even heard the sound of water softly sloshing within a container of some sort. A waterbender?

Suddenly, a familiar sound reached him. Being an extremely adept swordsman himself, the sound of metal on metal is one he'd never forget. So when this noise quietly unfolded in the darkness he knew that this wasn't a waterbender but a swordsman.

The man's eyes shot open in an instant and threw the blankets toward the interloper, hoping to confuse him. With a whirl, he landed with both feet on the ground and went instinctively to a fighting stance, facing the would-be killer.

The assassin immediately ducked down beside the bed as soon as his victim had awoke, shoving off the blankets in the process. Now he rose slowly, revealing sharp knives in each hand. His entire body was covered in swirling black cloth, making him seem more like a shadow in the night than an actual person. He wore thick, black, leather boots with weathered soles. Around his waist was a belt that held two hooked blades as well as throwing knives.

"Who are you?" called out the Fire Lord, pulling back his fist to prepare for his attack.

The shadow assassin said nothing.

"Answer me," he demanded.

The assassin continued to stand silently, waiting. In the darkness, it seemed as though he wasn't even breathing. With the mask that covered his head, the Fire Lord could not make out a single feature except for his slim build.

Narrowing his good eye, the Fire Lord spoke. "Very well," he hissed. Taking a deep breath to send his inner candle into a raging inferno, he leaped at the intruder, aiming a fireball at his head. What commenced then would seem, to an outsider, to be something of a dance.

The assassin, instead of moving away thus allowing the Fire Lord to firebend, quickly launched himself forward until he was directly in front of his target. Unable to bend effectively in such limited space, the Fire Lord began using hand-to-hand combat. The assassin responded by combining his swordsmanship with his fist fighting. He blocked many of the Fire Lord's blows with his forearms while retaliating with the blade in the opposing hand. He was remarkably flexible and easily dodged most of the Fire Lords attacks. On the occasion that he was hit, the assassin simply took the force, spun, and delivered a blow twice as powerful as the last.

The Fire Lord had not been challenged like this in a long while. Block, thrust, punch, block, kick, block. Only these traveled in his mind, and even then they were only there for a heartbeat. He winced as his enemy made contact with his shoulder before dealing a powerful blow straight into the stomach of his attacker. The air left the man in a whoosh as he nearly doubled over before catching himself. With a back flip that clipped the Fire Lord's chin, the assassin flipped away, giving both of them some breathing room.

Panting from the fight, the Fire Lord took a moment to check his body for wounds, not once leaving his fighting stance. Taking a deep breath, the Fire Lord winced as a stabbing pain shot through his limbs. There seemed to be at least one broken rib along with countless bruises and cuts that checkered his body here and there.

Returning his attention to the assassin, he noticed he seemed to have completely recovered from having the air knocked out of him. If anything, the assassin almost looked relaxed as he held his blade. However, the Fire Lord knew this was merely an act. A warrior of his caliber was never off his guard; he was simply using it to try and throw off the Fire Nation ruler.

Unfortunately for the assassin, His Majesty was truly skilled in the art of combat and such a novice trick could do nothing to phase him.

"Who sent you?" questioned the Fire Lord, attempting to mask his heavy breathing.

Without warning, the assassin straightened and shoved the knives into sheaths hidden in the folds of his clothes, startling His Majesty into almost firing a flame blast at him. Slowly, ever so slowly, the assassin raised his arms into the air, stopping when they were over his head.

Both men stood there, the assassin with an air of calm, the Fire Lord, startled. Before he could even think to ask why, he heard the sounds of shouts coming from outside his door. Soon the door was blasted open by guards.

Chaos ensued. The Fire Lord felt himself being tackled by his guards, three of which laid on top of him, showing their devotion by using their bodies as a human shield. Shouts, commands, and grunts filled the air as he heard his men take down the assassin. He heard one guard in particular.

"Capture the killer! Don't let him escape! Good, drive him to his knees and handcuff him. You two, head down to the dungeons to prepare a cell. I'll be down shortly with the prisoner. You, run to the infirmary and get the doctor. His Majesty has wounds that must be seen to. For the love of Agni! Get of His Majesty or I'll arrest you for attempted smothering of his Royal Highness!"

Suddenly the weight was removed from the Fire Lord's back and air rushed into his now free lungs, causing his broken rib to object. Sucking in a breath and rapidly rising to his feet, he assessed the situation of his quarters, ignoring the pain in his side.

There seemed to be at least twenty guards in his room. Three forced the assassin to his knees while a fourth was handcuffing him. Several searched the room for clues while a few others were being yelled at by his Captain of the Guard, Captain Jee.

"And what do you mean you didn't hear anything out of the ordinary? Your Fire Lord just did battle in his _bedroom_ and you didn't hear it! You were in the next room! Your lucky the Fire Lord is kinder than I because if it were me, I'd have your backside flogged until it was unrecognizable!" yelled Captain Jee, his face turning an unseemly red shade. "I hope you like bathroom duty, men, cause that's going to be your job for a long, long time!"

Sensing that his captain was going to soon turn violent, the Fire Lord stepped forward, causing all eyes to turn to him. A cold breeze through the window notified the Fire Lord to the fact that he still had no robe on to cover his chest.

Feeling mildly embarrassed at his semi-nakedness, the Fire Lord asked quietly, "Would someone get me a robe."

"Well, didn't you hear His Majesty, you lazy bunch of idiots? Get him a robe!" yelled his captain once more, scaring two of his men so much they nearly tripped over each other to find their Lord a robe.

As the robe was placed over his arms, his captain approached him and bowed as low as he could go.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," he said quietly. "I've failed as your captain and deserve whatever punishment you have planned for my men. I've obviously failed in their training." After hearing his words, his subordinates quickly fell to the ground, kowtowing to their king, excluding the ones who held on to the assassin. They simply bowed as low as possible.

Wanting to place a comforting hand on his friend but realizing he had to follow etiquette, the Fire Lord simply said, "I do not expect your men to be perfect, Captain."

"I request permission to punish them as I see fit, Your Majesty," asked Jee, still not raising his head.

Wanting to sigh at the antics of his captain, he replied."Granted."

"Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko. May your gracious and forgiving nature be remembered forever."

Zuko nearly rolled his eyes at such a ridiculous statement but refrained. Nodding, he turned to the assassin who had up to this point, been silently watching the proceedings.

"Assassin, you should know that the path your on leads only to death. Attempts on the life of the Fire Lord requires a hanging as is the law." Zuko narrows his eyes at the kneeling man. "There is no longer a point in keeping secrets. Tell us who you work for and your death will be quick and painless."

Silence ensued. Feeling the beginnings of a snarl, Zuko fought to control his features; he didn't want to show his impatience.

However, it was quite clear what Fire Lord Zuko felt. It was common knowledge that, while he didn't lose it often, the Fire Lord was known to set entire sections of the palace ablaze when consumed by his temper. The air in the room was stifling and one could practically see the tension in the room.

Captain Jee strode over, a scowl on his face. "The Fire Lord asked you a question, you worth piece of—," he cut off as he removed his mask.

A braid fell out.

All the men stood in shocked silence as the figure raised its head, revealing aristocratic cheekbones, full lips, dark skin, and a long braid of curly brown hair.

The bluest eyes Zuko had ever seen looked around at the men, a slight smirk on her face.

"All hail Fire Lord Zuko," she said quietly, turning her piercing blue eyes to Zuko's golden ones. Amusement was evident on her face as she finished the customary greeting to the Fire Lord. "May his flame burn forever."

* * *

><p>AN: So what did you think? Review please! I still haven't decided if I want to finish this and reviews help encourage me!


End file.
